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05 Jan 2011, 01:23

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Quest to do my Best - My GMAT Journey Log

Dear Readers,

I graduated from college in 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. During my last semester, I was offered employment by a major Engineering and Construction Company which visited my college campus to recruit fresh graduates. I worked with the company for a span of two years, during which I had the privilege to work in two countries. All in all I got a very good exposure and things were great! However, I felt the time was right for me to broaden my horizon and spread my wings before I grew too comfortable. So, I resigned my job, returned to my country and started to prepare for GMAT.

I wrote the GMAT on 26th Dec and got the following score:

Verbal – 37/80 %ileQuant – 43/65 %ileTotal – 650/79 %ileAWA – 5.0

I plan to take the test again this coming Feb because I am not entirely happy with my first attempt. The disappointment stems out of many things I realized after I took the test. I made a series of foolish assumptions which resulted in a sub-optimal performance on test day.

PITFALLS:1. I underestimated the test.2. I took the verbal section for granted and practiced very little. I own a copy of MGMAT SC, RC and CR, but I only went through them peripherally.3. As far as quant goes, I solved all the Problem Solving questions but didn't do as many DS questions. I assumed that if my PS skills are strong, DS would take care of itself. 4. I did not have a strategy. Like they say "Failing to plan is like planning to fail"

With that said, I recall the words of Zig Ziglar:

"Failure is an event, not a person"

So, with the ghost of GMAT past locked up in GMAT purgatory, I forge on full steam ahead!

There is a Hindu philosophy which I believe in. It says "Do your job without worrying about the result"

Therefore, I'm not setting a target score because my aim is to do my best! If I give it my best shot, I will automatically get the score I deserve. (right?)

Here is how this thread is going to work.

It will consist of two posts. The first post would be about what I did on that particular day and the second post would be about what I plan to do the next day.

I will start my preparation from tomorrow. So you can expect the first post [what I plan to do tomorrow] within a few hours.

Wish me luck and do support me in my journey!

Regards,

Amrith A.K.A. Storm Crow ^_^

[At mods - could you change my display name from Amrith to Storm Crow?]

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05 Jan 2011, 03:19

To Do List for 6th Jan 2011a) Write GMAT Test Prep 1 and record the results in an Error Log. Study the results carefully and decide on the future course of action. [NOTE: I will not be taking any practice tests till I finish reviewing the Manhattan GMAT prep books. After taking the Test Prep 1, I will delete the software and re-install it later. Therefore, I am not worried about using up one Prep Test]b) Create a day-by-day schedule to cover all the topics in the Manhattan GMAT prep books.c) Post the Error Log and the Schedule in this thread.
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05 Jan 2011, 23:53

Update: Just attempted GMAT Practice Test 1. Score is as follows:Total - 690Vebal - 35Quant - 49I'm analyzing my response to the answers using an Error Log. I will post the summary of my strengths and weaknesses, as determined from the Error Log, after a while!\Peace/
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From Apendix A - Percentile Ranking Tables, of The Official Guide for GMAT Review (12th Edition), the corresponding percentile for the score indicated above is as follows:

Total - 690 - 88 %ileVebal - 35 - 74 %ileQuant - 49 - 88 %ile

I had taken the GMAT Practice Test 1 three times before this present attempt and a few questions did repeat. This might have boosted the scores by a small factor. However, the purpose of this test was not to estimate my GMAT Score but to formulate a study strategy.

From the percentile rankings, it is clear that I must start working on my Verbal Section first. Within the verbal section, Sentence Correction is my first priority since 80% of my mistakes were from this area!

Next, I shall focus on CR and then RC. Finally, I will move on to the Quant section. Since my accuracy level in PS and DS is almost the same, I will spend a week or two revising the concepts required and then solve DS problems from the OG.

This is my rough strategy...

I will chart out a clear course of action soon and I will post it here!

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06 Jan 2011, 09:50

So here's me update for the day! I'm down with a runny nose and a bad throat. Notwithstanding that, I wrote the GMAT Practice Test 1 at around 9. I posted the results immediately after I wrote the prep test. I did a brief analysis to determine my weakest area and I zeroed in on Sentence Correction. I took a long nap in the noon and got back to my books after my evening tea. I own a copy of Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide and my intention is to review the book very thoroughly. The beauty of this book (and the series as well) is the way it integrates with the OG 12th Edition. So it is important that I use this plus point to my advantage. Thus, I've come up with the following strategy to hone my Sentence Correction skills.
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Day 4 - Create Notes and Flash Cards on the following chapters: 1. Pronouns and Modifiers - Advanced2. Verb and Comparison - Advanced

Day 5 - Solve Problems, from the OG 12th Edition, at the end of the following chapters:1. Subject-Verb Agreement2. Parallelism3. Pronouns4. Modifiers5. Verb Tense, Mood and Voice6. Comparisons

Day 6 - Solve Problems, from the OG 12th Edition, at the end of the following chapters:1. Idioms2. Odds and Ends3. Grammar, Meaning, Concision - Advanced4. Pronouns and Modifiers - Advanced5. Verb and Comparison - Advanced

From Day 7 to Day 14Solve all the sentence correction questions in the OG 12th Edition 4 times, taking 2 days per cycle.

Day 14 onwardsSolve 10 questions per day and keep revising the flash cards and notes!
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07 Jan 2011, 04:15

Alright! Targets set for Day 1:Create Notes and Flash Cards on the following chapters:1. Subject-Verb Agreement [Achieved]2. Parallelism [Achieved]3. Pronouns [Achieved]

In addition to creating the flashcards, I also did the corresponding questions from OG for each of the chapters. The bloody nose is still very runny though... Damn x_xAnyway, I think a few rounds of Whiskey would do me good :D*Cheers*

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Immediate Impressions:1. The Verbal score has remained unchanged.2. The Quant score has dropped from 49 to 42. It was expected though. I felt the difficulty level was a notch higher. 3. Although the score has dropped from 690 to 620, I am not too bothered by it! In fact I am really thrilled by the prospects of making a massive leap to an excellent score from this humble start!

A more detailed explanation is in order... I shall soon update the thread!

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29 Jan 2011, 16:40

Alright. First of all, I loved the 'export to excel' feature in the MGMAT Prep Test :D

That said, let me elaborate on the things I learned from MGMAT Prep Test 1. Verbal:1. I finished the verbal section with nearly 30 minutes left on the clock. Thus, I need to work on the timing.2. My errors are distributed over a wide range of subjects. I guess that indicates a general lack in the number of practice questions solved rather than lack in conceptual knowledge. Quant:1. Quant was okay. Could have boosted the score to 50 if I had reviewed the following topics:a) Equationsb) Modulusc) Geometry2. More practice required though.
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